Slide 1: ==== ==== Discover the Learn Arabic secrets they really don't want you to know http://tinyurl.com/Learn-Arabic-Fast ==== ====
Arabic is one of the world's major languages, and proficiency in Arabic is a skill that's in high demand. With the ongoing importance of the Middle East for both strategic reasons and for its oil resources, the Western world will continue to have interests and interaction with the region for a long time. But Arabic is not limited to the Arab countries of the Middle East. It is also spoken throughout North Africa, and some parts of east Africa and even subsaharan Africa. It is the official language or one of multiple official languages in 25 countries, and 26 if we classify Israel and the Palestinian Authority as separate entities, that have a total population of 325 million people. Arabic speakers are in demand by many companies dealing with the Middle East, by militaries, and by intelligence services. Proficiency in Arabic opens up some special career opportunities not open to others, so it is worthwhile to learn Arabic. Not to mention that the people of the Arab world are warm and hospitable and love to communicate. Being able to speak their language will turn a nice trip into an incredible one. Arabic, however, is a challenge to learn. Most people take one look at the Arabic script and conclude that they could never learn it. It is, however, not complicated and can be easily learned with a couple weeks of consistent practice. The pronunciation is more of a challenge, with Arabic having a number of sounds that are not found in most other languages and can be difficult to reproduce and distinguish between. These sounds are best learned by imitating a native speaker. Another challenge of learning Arabic is that it is so different from English and other Indo-European languages. As a semitic language, Arabic grammar and morphology is very different than what you are probably used to. Verb tenses work differently, the word order is different, and there are few cognate words between English and Arabic. Learning Arabic is not a casual affair, it really requires some discipline because the sheer amount of new concepts and information can be overwhelming. Perhaps the greatest challenge is Arabic diglossia. Diglossia is the use of two separate varieties of a language by native speakers of one language. The language that is an official language around the Arab World is Modern Standard Arabic, which is the formal literary language that is a modern adaptation of the Classical Arabic of the Koran. This language is used in newspapers, news broadcasts, formal speeches, and the like. But all over the Arabic world there are various spoken dialects of Arabic that differ from Modern Standard Arabic. These dialects are the native tongues of Arabic people. All of these dialects developed from Classical Arabic, but they can differ widely from each other. Generally speaking, the wider the geographic distance between two Arabic-speaking areas, the greater the dialectal difference. There can be quite an impressive language barrier between two native speakers of Arabic.
Slide 2: The key to learning Arabic is to learn Modern Standard Arabic as a foundation, and also learn a spoken dialect. Some people recommend you learn Egyptian colloquial Arabic because it is widely understood because of the prevalence of Egyptian tv and movies. But I think this is flawed thinking, because even though you may be understood, you will not understand the other person, who will speak in his local dialect. I recommend that you learn the main dialect of the country or area you are most interested in, or will have the most interaction with. If you are in the US military and will be moving to Iraq, then of course Iraqi Arabic is the best choice. If you will be doing aid work in the Westbank, then I recommend Palestinian Arabic. If at some point in the future you will be travelling or working in another area of the Arab World, then Modern Standard Arabic will serve as your foundation, and with a little bit of practice you should be able to make sense of the local dialect, if not proficiently then at least for basic communication. If you are simply going on a trip to an Arabic speaking country and don't plan on studying long term or on living in the region, then learning some of that country's spoken dialect is probably the best way to go. Learning Arabic is a challenge on a number of levels. But for those with a deep interest in the Arab World, Arabic is a fascinating and rewarding language whose wonders will motivate you to overcome all those obstacles. For those who wish to learn Arabic as a career asset, Arabic is a rare skill that is in demand by various companies and in certain professions. If you have the patience and commitment to gain proficiency, it will be well worth the effort.
Paul Jorgensen has spent years studying the Semitic languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic, as well as other languages such as Japanese and Indonesian. He is an avid traveler who takes a keen interest in cultural variation. His blog Middle East Museum features editorials and information on the Middle East, such as this profile of all countries in the Middle East.
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==== ==== Discover the Learn Arabic secrets they really don't want you to know http://tinyurl.com/Learn-Arabic-Fast ==== ====
